Mac Jones is the Colossus of Week 10

For the second week in a row, the NFL delivered a series of major surprises on the schedule, accompanied by a handful of beatings as part of Round 10 action.

At the same time, a few teams took advantage of the date to shake off a recent bad start, or consolidate their status as contenders as the second half of the season got underway. One of the latter teams, led by a rookie quarterback, has been doing its homework under the radar in recent weeks, and is there among the clubs that will fight for playoff tickets in the AFC:

Mac Jones, quarterback, New England Patriots
All NFL teams, without exception, go through times of transition. However, consistently successful teams manage to avoid rebuilding seasons. This seems to be the case for the Patriots.

A year after seeing Tom Brady crowned with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the signs point to them having their long-term heir apparent. No, that doesn’t mean New England is going to win the Super Bowl this year. Nor does it necessarily mean they’re going to win a Super Bowl with Jones after this year, that’s not known.

What it does mean is that it’s likely, at the very least, that the Pats have found a starter for the position, allowing them to move on to occupy other positions going forward, with a mission to compete in the seasons to come.

Jones made very little noise among this year’s rookie quarterbacks, particularly compared to Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson, or even Justin Fields. New England didn’t have to move up in the draft order for Jones, and the gamble to stay seems to have paid off, at least after the first half of his first season.

Sunday’s game was a great test. The Patriots beat the Cleveland Browns, who started the season among the candidates to win it all, and who were apparently on the rise after a remarkable display the previous day against the Cincinnati Bengals, which seemed to put them back among the protagonists after a disappointing first half of the season.

Jones instead gave lessons on how to manage an NFL offense, leading the 45-7 thrashing of Cleveland. He completed 19 of 23 pass attempts for 198 yards with three touchdowns with no interceptions, and it didn’t even take a full game’s worth of work on his part, eventually giving way to Brian Hoyer as a replacement.

The Bucs are favored by many analysts to repeat as Super Bowl champions, and of course Brady is one of the main reasons, after last season’s impressive showing.

Well, don’t look now, but there is only a half-game difference between Tampa Bay (6-3), with Brady, and the Pats (6-3), with the heir to Brady. No, they are not competing directly for a postseason ticket, and could only meet again in an eventual Super Bowl. Yes, the Bucs look like a better team through and through, notwithstanding the surprising loss this game. But, at least in Week 10, the New England faithful should feel very reassured about the future at the position.

Honorable mentions
EDITORIAL PICKS

A handful of divisional races already taking definite shape in the NFL
11hJavier Trejo Garay
Stefon Diggs, wide receiver, Buffalo Bills. There were a number of teams that disappointed big time last week, particularly in terms of betting and betting pools. One of them was the Bills, who shook off a day to forget with a breakout performance led by Diggs and his eight receptions for 162 yards with a touchdown in a 45-17 drubbing of the divisional-rival Jets.

CeeDee Lamb, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys. Speaking of teams looking to re-establish their image as contenders, the Cowboys were no slouches. A day after their worst game in a long time, Dallas came back to life against the Falcons in a 43-3 blowout performance in which Lamb hauled in six receptions for 94 yards with two touchdowns and a 12-yard carry on a Sunday when the offense regained its spark.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs needed a game like tonight’s, where all the pieces of the offensive machine, and a dash of luck, came back on their side. Mahomes completed 35 of 50 completions for 406 yards with five touchdowns with no interceptions, although it is also true that he could have gone home with three interceptions that dropped the Raiders’ hands. Kansas City still isn’t back to the high we’ve seen from them in the last couple of years, but they’ve taken a giant step forward from the last couple of weeks, no doubt.

Christian McCaffrey, running back, Carolina Panthers. A day without touchdowns doesn’t avoid appearing on our weekly list when the game was good enough, as in McCaffrey’s case. Although Cam Newton stole the spotlight with two touchdowns on two plays, which undoubtedly crippled the Cardinals’ game plan, McCaffrey was the engine that drove the Panthers to victory, with 13 carries for 95 yards and 10 receptions for 66 yards, a performance extremely appreciated by his owners in fantasy leagues, even though he did not find the diagonals. The Panthers had a major scare when Run-CMC went to the medical tent, but his short absence from the final stretch of the game seemed to be just a precaution, after the campaign he has had on the physical side.

Dak Prescott, quarterback, Cowboys. After an obviously off-tempo game last Sunday, Prescott got back into rhythm this afternoon with a 24-of-31 completions for 296 yards and two touchdown passes — both to Lamb — and no interceptions, plus a touchdown on the ground. When he plays like he did in Week 10 this quarterback, and with the weapons at his disposal, it’s hard to ignore the Cowboys as a contender.

Jonathan Taylor, running back, Indianapolis Colts. Another game week for the Colts, and another remarkable game from Taylor out of the backfield. The Wisconsin product went home with 116 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, plus six passes caught. The Colts struggled a bit more than predicted against Jacksonville, but a divisional win never sees the fangs in this league.

Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots running back. Jones wasn’t the only standout player on a well-rounded afternoon for the Pats, getting plenty of help from the rookie running back. Stevenson carried the ball 20 times for 100 yards with two touchdowns, and added four passes caught out of the backfield on one of the best days of his rookie campaign. It has been an up-and-down season for the Oklahoma product, with some ball security issues that have taken away offensive opportunities, but today he answered the offensive call in New England and that should earn him future minutes.